Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2023, publiée 112ème session CIT (2024)

Convention (n° 182) sur les pires formes de travail des enfants, 1999 - Honduras (Ratification: 2001)

Previous observation and previous direct request

The Committee notes the observations of the Honduran National Business Council (COHEP), received on 31 August 2021 and 30 August 2022.

Articles 3(a) and (b) and 7(1) of the Convention. Trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation, use of children for prostitution or for the production of pornography or pornographic performances, and penalties applied. The Committee notes with satisfaction the adoption of Decree 93-2021 which amended section 291 of the Penal Code to increase the imprisonment sentence from 5 to 8 years to 10 to 15 years in cases of trafficking in persons. The Committee further notes the statistical information provided in the Government’s report on the number of complaints of trafficking in persons and commercial sexual exploitation received, as well as the number of convictions and penalties imposed for 2018 to 2021. The Committee notes that according to the statistics provided, in 2021, a total of 75 complaints were received, 68 of which concerned commercial sexual exploitation and 7 related to trafficking in persons for forced labour or begging. A total of 29 persons were convicted to sentences of three to 21 years of imprisonment and fines of between 75 and 221 times the minimum wage for acts of trafficking in persons and commercial sexual exploitation. Among these convictions, the Committee notes that 4 persons were convicted of child pornography and 2 persons were convicted for commercial sexual exploitation of a minor. The Government further indicates that, in 2021, of a total of 101 victims detected, 51 were underaged victims (41 girls and 10 boys), the main crimes related to child pornography (9 girls and 2 boys), begging (3 girls and 5 boys) and sexual exploitation (6 girls).The Committee further notes from the COHEP’s observations that, in 2021, public officials were prosecuted for being involved in trafficking of persons and commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government, which highlights the serious problems of child trafficking prevailing in the country. The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the Government to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children and their trafficking for that purpose. It requests the Government to continue to take all measures available to tackle this problem and to provide information on the impact of the measures taken. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide up-to-date information, disaggregated by the gender and age of the victims, on the number of investigations conducted, prosecutions launched and convictions and penalties imposed relating to child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children under 18 years.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee takes note of the information provided in the Government’s report under the application of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) on the measures taken to improve the functioning of the education system, with the aim of increasing school attendance, such as: (1) the implementation of the Plan for the protection of educational trajectories of pre-primary, primary and secondary level students (2021–23); (2) the launch of the “Training of the Educator Towards a Sustainable Human Development”; (3) the continuation of the National School Food Programme (PNAE) which provides a supplementary nutritional ration to all children at school; (4) the continuation of the deworming programme for children in private and public schools; and (5) the adoption and implementation of the Strategic Plan for the Education Sector 2018-2030. The Committee also notes, from the COHEP’s observations, that: (1) the Government is working on improving school infrastructures and developing a new enrolment system that will simplify the formalities for parents to enrol their children in school; and (2) in the report on Progress in Education in Honduras (2022) in 2020, the net school attendance rates were at 84.8 per cent for primary education and 46.7 per cent in lower secondary education. In 2021, the net school attendance rates were 77.2 per cent for primary education and 42.2 per cent for lower-secondary education; the report also states that, in 2021, 700,000 children aged between 5 and 17 years were out of the education system.

The Committee welcomes the measures taken but nevertheless notes with regret the decrease in the net school attendance in both the primary and lower secondary education between 2020 and 2021. The Committee notes, from the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, that despite the efforts made to ensure equal access to quality education for all, there is a low enrolment rate among girls compared with boys (CEDAW/C/HND/CO/9, 1 November 2022, para. 34). The Committee further takes note, from the concluding observations of the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, of the high school drop-out rate among indigenous and Afro-Honduran children and adolescents (CERD/C/HND/CO/6-8, 14 January 2019, para. 32). In these circumstances,the Committee requests the Government to continue to strengthen its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system with a view to achieving an increase in the school attendance and completion rates of children at the primary and lower-secondary level, including of girls and indigenous and Afro-Honduran children. It requests the Government to provide information on the assessment of the above-mentioned measures, as well as the results achieved.

Clause (b). Direct and necessary assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Rapid Response Team (ERI), a specialized operational body of the Inter institutional Commission on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Persons (CICESCT), responsible for providing assistance to victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation, assisted 25 victims of trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation of less than 18 years of age (19 girls and 6 boys) in 2018, 23 victims (21 girls and 2 boys) in 2019, 43 victims (35 girls and 8 boys) in 2020, and 51 victims (41 girls and 10 boys) in 2021. The Committee notes that the intervention of the ERI focuses on the victims, their families and, in some cases, on their community in order to ensure their recovery, rehabilitation and social integration.

The Committee notes, from the 2021 Annual Report of the CICESCT, that: (1) victims who were rescued from trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation received psychological and medical care, as well as legal assistance, social reintegration (with their family), and provision of education or vocational training; (2) victims were provided with food and kits of basic hygiene as well as clothing, and received help to lodge complaints; (3) the CICESCT carried out awareness-raising actions aimed at groups in vulnerable situations, including girls, boys, students, women, people with disabilities, the indigenous population, migrants and the LGBTI population; and (4) in 2021, the CICESCT prepared and approved a Standard Operating Procedure (POE) and developed a road map for the identification, assistance and protection of victims in different municipalities throughout the country.

The Committee notes, from the Government’s third report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that, between 2017 and 2020, the ERI, the inter-agency team of experts and the 24 local committees coordinated more than 500,000 comprehensive primary and secondary assistance services for victims of trafficking and their families. These services encompassed: protection, support, shelter, food, clothing, psychological, social, legal and medical assistance, housing, education, vocational training, documentation, asylum, transportation, employment, family assistance, treatment for addiction, financial loans, entrepreneurships, repatriation, follow-up and family visits (CCPR/C/HND/3, 9 January 2023, para. 196). Noting the effective and time-bound measures taken by the Government to remove children from trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration, the Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures in this regard. It further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of children who have been removed from trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation and who have benefited from rehabilitation measures, and the results achieved.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Indigenous children. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it carried out consultations with the relevant stakeholders regarding the measures to be taken to protect indigenous children against the worst forms of child labour, but that no response was obtained in this regard. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved in the framework of the Vida Mejor Programme and the 20/20 system of grants, which provided grants and conditional cash transfers for children attending school. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any other measures taken or envisaged to protect indigenous children from the worst forms of child labour.

Clause (e). Special situation of girls. Child domestic workers. The Committee notes that one of the strategic goals of the road map for the elimination of child labour in all its forms 2021–25 is the formulation of a specific line of work for the prevention of child labour and the protection of adolescent female workers with a focus on domestic work in third-party homes, and in the hospitality and food service industries. The Committee requests the Government to report on the implementation of the road map for elimination of child labour in all its forms 2021-2025, with an indication of the number of children engaged in domestic work who have been removed from situations of worst forms of child labour and have benefited from rehabilitation and social integration measures.

Article 8. International and regional cooperation. Commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking for that purpose. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it continues to work in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for the strengthening of the capacities of officials for the provision of immediate assistance to victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that at least five cases of trafficking of persons are being coordinated binationally with Belize, Mexico, Guatemala, Spain and Argentina. The Committee also notes the signature of a cooperation agreement between the CICESCT and the International Centre for Disappeared and Exploited Children (ICMEC), with the aim of strengthening the capacities of the staff from government institutions and civil society organizations, and the cooperation with the countries that make up the northern triangle of Central America, in the fight against trafficking in persons. The Government further indicates that the CICESCT has signed a cooperation agreement with the International Children’s Office (IBCR) with which it implemented a strengthening project for the CICESCT, the Supreme Court, the Honduran National Police and civil society organizations between 2019 and 2022, for the prevention of trafficking in children.

In addition, the Government, in cooperation with “End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes” (ECPAT) Guatemala, is undertaking a study of identification of the vulnerabilities of children and adolescents in the countries of the northern triangle and Mexico migrating to the border between the United States and Mexico. The Committee also notes the various strategic alliances formed to strengthen the CICESCT’s response in the prevention and attention to victims, including with the CYBERCRIME Programme of the UNODC, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF. The Committee notes, from the observations of the COHEP, that during 2019, among the services provided to victims through the ERI, 120 negotiations were carried out with other countries for the documentation, asylum, repatriation, attention and follow-up of legal cases. The COHEP highlights the effective coordination of the CICESCT and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) which, despite the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were permitted the repatriation of 16 victims in 2020 and 20 victims in 2021. The Committee welcomes the Government’s efforts at the international and regional levels to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children and their trafficking for that purpose, and requests it to continue its efforts in this regard. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the results achieved in the context of the implementation of these agreements, and particularly on the number of children repatriated to their country of origin, disaggregated by gender, age and nationality.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.